Authorities were investigating who hung the symbol of racial intimidation as university leadership and black campus groups spoke out against the incident.
A rope noose has been found hanging from a tree on the campus of Duke University in North Carolina, and officials are investigating who put it there.
The noose, which is a common symbol in the South of lynchings that were once often used — and sometimes still are — to terrorize and intimidate the black community, was found at around 2 a.m. in the plaza outside the Bryan Center, which is a student commons building, according to an Associated Press report.
Several thousand students gathered in front of a chapel on campus, where President Richard Brodhead addressed them saying that their presence there showed that the university as a whole rejected such symbolism.
The school’s Black Student Alliance was alerted to the noose via Twitter, and the group’s vice president went to confirm that it was really there.
Just days before, students had held a recruiting weekend at Duke for talent black high school students, causing one of the participants — 19-year-old Tara-Marie Desruisseaux — to wonder what Duke was “selling me and what do they accept that they think Duke is so great?” she said according to the AP report.
The scene on campus throughout the day on Wednesday was one of protests, discussions, and forums, according to a Duke Chronicle report.
Several hundred students marched from the West Campus bus stop to the plaza where the noose was found to demonstrate against the display. Meanwhile, a number of different organizations spoke out against the incident and offered support to those who wanted it.
The university offered counseling to the student body. The campus has its own Counseling and Pyschological Services office, and university officials encouraged students to take advantage of that resource.
